


What's in the suitcase?

by SheepShit



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man (Comics), Marvel (Comics), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Eventual Relationships, Identity Porn, M/M, Mafia AU, Mob Boss AU, Tony Stark & Steve Rogers - Freeform, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark is dying, mob boss steve
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2019-01-23
Packaged: 2019-07-06 10:15:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15884010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SheepShit/pseuds/SheepShit
Summary: Anthony Edward Stark is a rich genius, he has nothing to worry about.Or, well.. Tony has made a small mistake and now because Iron Man (his «Bodyguard») is unable to make an appearance, Tony has to make a deal with The Captain (aka the most feared mob boss in America)





	1. Business, not pleasure

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this, please leave a comment and let me know! 
> 
> A small disclaimer! English is not my first language, so if you see any grammar mistakes, especially one that just didn’t butter your bread, please let me know! (I apologize for any mistakes!)

Tony Stark was sitting in his limousine, waiting. The driver had taken a break to get himself a cigarette, whilst the billionaire counted the minutes before the carefully planned encounter.

Perfectly on time, the door to his right slammed open, as The Captain showed himself. His driver was unconscious outside, his lighter and cigarette abandoned on the ground.

“You need to get better security”

The blond said with more than a little annoyance. Tony shook his head and winced in sympathy to his employees bleeding nose.

“What do you want, Stark”

The Captain said, a man not overly concerned with what he assumed was Mr. Starks unprofessional security. _Where the hell is that metal bodyguard of his? I could have killed his boss whilst he was slacking off somewhere,_ Steve thought as he sat down on the opposite side of Tony.

“Just a small favor, handsome.”

Anthony winked as he leaned back towards his carefully cleaned, leather seat.  
He placed his hands in his pockets as he tried to not think about how bad of a decision this could have been.

“Get to the point, Stark. I don’t have time for this.”

The intimidating man continued, as he carefully kept his expression serious. He had things to take care of and a group to check in on. He was here for business, not pleasure. _Though that isn't outside the realm of possibilities for another time_ , he pondered as he looked at the man in the tight-fitting suit.

Tony paused, and examined the Captain, whilst he made sure he himself looked calm and in control. The billionaire was far from stupid. He knew the man in front of him had killed and had one hell of a reputation. He took a deep breath. He didn’t like his reasons for inviting him there, and he didn’t like what he was about to do. But he has no other choice.

His tone turned serious as he met the cold blue eyes. All jokes and humor put aside.

“I am here to offer you some of my more dangerous...”  
He looked out the window to his left, as his expression grew tight. 

“creations... and about one million dollars, for a favor that will end the last day of this week”

The man with the coal-black hair had a limited amount of time on him to get this done. There was no way to fix anything, if he didn’t keep everything timed right.

He drummed his fingers in the middle of his chest.  
“If you haven’t accomplished it in the next six days, you may leave and keep both the money and the weapons.”

A promise and deal The Captain couldn’t say no to.  
Anthony met the other mans eyes and finally, as expected, the Captain seemed to take interest.  
  
“What do you want, Stark”

Even with his face still angry-looking, his tone of voice had changed ever so slightly. Tony relaxed as he recognizes the voice of “hiding interest”. He’d heard it enough times before on countless board meetings. Finally, he knew the deal was most likely done.  
  
“I need you and/or your people, to retrieve a suitcase for me, Captain”

The blond hid it well, but Tony could easily read the suspicion and confusion in the lines of his face. Again, because of personal experience.

“What’s in the suitcase?”  
Steve frowned as he leaned in closer towards the businessman. Anthony smiled.  
  
“That particular information is classified,” he explained.

Tony didn’t exactly trust the guy, but he knew he kept his word. (That was what rumors said at least) He wasn’t afraid of Rogers himself knowing what the suitcase held, because, well, for some reason the blond gave out some weird feelings of righteousness that Anthony couldn’t deny. (Either the Captain was a good person or a great bluffer, Tony wasn’t sure which)

The thing was, he couldn’t trust just about anyone with this and probably not some group of dangerous people. If they knew how valuable the suitcase was, they might just sell it and get a hell of a lot more money.

  
“That is the only catch, Captain” He reassured the man before he continued.

“Well, the weapons I make can’t be strong enough to destroy a county single-handedly, you know? But things like grenades, guns, maybe a bow and some arrows for that archer I know you got. All the good stuff. I’ll make one for every member, no matter how many there are”

The captain looked at him, something almost like concern _for Tony_ , was shown in his eyes.  
“You gotta be desperate to do this, Mr. Stark”

The no-longer weapons dealer, couldn’t take the sudden soft tune to his voice. He didn’t deserve that horrible pity, he didn’t deserve anything. He was so close to dying that he couldn’t even fix his own problems. If he got in the armor with his heart this weak, he’d die instantly, so now he had to get help and create killing machines. The brunette tried to tune out the sympathy.

Rogers looked at the man's profile. Anthony Edward Stark was no “spoiled rich boy”. He had built and he had fought for himself. But this man had obviously figured he couldn’t do everything by himself, either. Least of all something that demanded skill in combat and infiltration! In front of him sat a wise and smart man who had been aware of the past mistakes that he had been pushed into. This was a man that had changed a weapons company pushed onto him and made it something good. Steve didn’t exactly put Stark on a pedestal (no matter what Nat said) but he did look up to the man in front of him. God, he'd already decided, from the moment he got into the limousine, that he would (most likely) approve the man's request.

Of course, Stark weapons was something he couldn’t dismiss. He knew Stark was making the Avengers do something highly important to him if he got back to making guns. Even though he felt a little guilty for making the billionaire get back to making weapons, Steve was really excited to get the group the best quality possible. Of course, the money was also something the group lacked.

Tony looked out the right window and focused his gaze on his driver. The avenger only did missions they agreed with, and they only did them for an insane amount of reward.  
But they never failed. This group of anti-heroes hardly did anything wrong. Well, obviously they killed and were violent. They killed terrorists, rapists, kidnappers, and people that dared threaten their mismatch of a group. Civilians they either kept away from or helped. He knew the weapons he would make for them would be used to kill, but at least, as he kept reminding himself, it wouldn’t be innocents.  
  
Tony was far from an innocent, at least in his mind. Selling weapons and being one of the worlds most famous killers. Yes, he might not have pulled the trigger, but it was still his hands that were red with blood.

Innocent people, innocent children were killed because of him, and he reached his twenties before he even realized. A man claiming to be a futurist, with tunnel vision, that’s what he was. Every time the reactor in his chest pained him, he felt he deserved it. It was a reminder of what he’d done.

Anthony Stark was never making the same mistakes again and he was so incredibly close to failing that promise.  
He could take some more blood on his hands and some money out of his pocket to keep it. After all, some blood sprout was better than a bloodbath.

He met the mafia boss' eyes, his own night blue ones filled with determination  
  
“Are we doing this, or not.”

A tense silence stretched out before Steve reached out his pale and muscular hand. Tony met Steve with his tan and boney one.

A hand, knuckles decorated with bruises, held around the slightly smaller one filled with burns and cuts.

  
“We have a deal”


	2. A Malfunctioning Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few of Tony's thoughts.

Tony was breathing harshly and unevenly, but, well, he wouldn't be breathing for much longer if he didn't get to his power station fast enough.  
Everything was spinning and his chest was in agony. Anthony decided he didn't actually want to get there. He didn't want to live, really. Maybe if he just stayed on the ground, with his head pounding and his vision blurry, maybe it would finally be over. Maybe, he could finally stop. Stop struggling, stop feeling miserable, stop everything. It’s not like he had much time left either way! The desire to stay on the ground was high, the idea of a drink of scotch, even higher-

No. He shook his head harshly. He wasn't alive because he wanted to, that had never been the case. Iron man, and Mr.Stark were alive because they needed to be. Because the future needed to be safe. Even if what they needed to be safe from, was him. Coincidentally, this is also why he wasn't allowing himself to drink. Big surprise.

Tony started coughing as he dragged himself closer to his bedroom where the charger was placed. In truth, it was only a couple of meters away, but in Tony's head, it felt like miles. Sweat was crawling down his forehead and back. He was close, he didn’t want to continue, but he had to. Oh, a glass of scotch would be so good, the taste, the feeling of letting go, just for a moment-

No. Anthony pushed forward until he reached the top left corner of his room, where a normal looking charger was placed. If anyone saw it, they’d probably just assume it was for a phone or his computer. Something normal, that didn't keep the man himself alive. A bitter laugh left his mouth as he connected the cable to his chest. Like normal people would charge their belongings, he would be charging his heart. His life was a time bomb. Literally. Suddenly, his heart might just go out, unprompted, and then someone would be left with a dead body at their hands.

A curse left his dry lips as he curled in on himself. It just hurts so much to change his heart, especially now.

A drink would certainly fix that-  
Tony’s grip on the charger tightened. I certainly could, but Tony wouldn't be doing that. He let out a deep sigh.

Electricity wasn't enough to power him fully anymore. After an accident that had happened last time he was out as Iron Man, he’d managed to hurt his already damaged chest. The problem now was, because he could barely charge himself for daily activities as a desk junky, he didn’t have enough to survive more than about five minutes, in his energy consuming armor, before he dropped dead. Not only that. He had about a week on him before he would, gold and red armor or not, drop dead, anyway.

Anthony took a deep breath. Making a deal with The Captain hadn’t been high on his wish list, Tony had tried contacting several doctors with the expertise he needed before he realized none of them could help and the ones that could, he didn’t trust with knowing his weakness or potentially, his secret identity. Tony, had, of course, kept his dying problem far away from Rhodey, Happy, Pepper and Jarvis. They shouldn’t have to worry about him when he got himself injured.

But as always, when Tony had a problem occur, there were suddenly multiple. Right now, the second one was the suitcase. Anthony shouldn't have let anybody get their hands on that suitcase. It didn’t contain the most dangerous thing he owned, but the material and the value, especially on the black market, was something he couldn’t risk.

Normally, this would be a simple mission with the iron man suit, but because he couldn't do that at the moment, and with the little time he had on hand, he’d have to make do with what was possible. So, he himself would be in Madripoor, keeping an eye on the auctions, whilst Captain Rogers, and whoever he brought with him, would visit the person that most likely managed to grab it. Now, the auctions alternative was an easy one. He’d shave beforehand, and no one would recognize him, this was basically a fact at this point. He’d keep an eye on what was happening in town tomorrow night, whilst The Captain and his group would find the man most likely responsible. If not they’d question him out. Now, Tony had been pondering how to find the man himself, but apparently, they had this member that was really good at tracking, as Rogers had reassured. Tony hadn’t asked any questions to that.

The mob boss had agreed on not looking inside the suitcase, but he had some demands on his own. They would all be wearing comms at all times, including Tony. And, Tony might be the one who ordered their services, but Steve was the one ordering around on the mission, this may also include Mr.Stark at some points. Anthony had reluctantly agreed.

Tony tried relaxing on the floor but to no avail. He shook his head. Tony’s theory was simple. The mission he injured his chest (more) was the same mission where he’d lost the suitcase. This he was certain of.

He’d been hosting a small gala in his building. He was having a rather tense conversation with Tiberius Stone, also known as Ty, when he had gotten interrupted by his “watch” beeping (which was really just a way for his A.I to signalize something was happening). He had quickly excused himself, saying something about needing to use the restroom, a quick thought of excuse, really. He took the elevator down to the lab, lowly cursing himself for not bringing his Armor, and of course, flew away to fight after finally getting it on. Now, the fight wasn’t exactly as short as he’d hoped for., with it being Radioactive Man. And honest to God, he was really lucky Thor was there to help. (Tony never really got Thor. He was some Scandinavian, muscular, mutant?) It was all good in the end, but he’d taken huge hits and knew he wouldn’t be able to get back to the gala, so he’d gone straight down to his lab where it was clear there had been a break in.

Luckily enough, the thief must have run out of time since they’d only been able to grab about three things, before making their exit. His newest model for a Stark phone was taken, a prototype for some new repulser tech he’d been toying around with, and the suitcase. They could have simply taken the item instead of dragging the huge suitcase with them, so Anthony assumed they’d simply taken the first things they saw, and then left before they could get caught. Which would make perfect sense, since the items had been within close distance from each other?

Tony still cursed his security which was obviously not good enough. Of course, about five minutes after the realization of the situation he was stuck in at the time, he’d passed out. If it wasn’t for Happy, lifting his sorry ass to the nearest charger and plugging him in like a shitty cellphone, he would have died earlier than necessary. Which was a great thing to find out about on a scan, right after what had happened in his lab. Luckily, the Stark phone was secured. He had already sent designs to Stark industries where it was copyrighted. His repulsor tech wasn’t finished, so since a genius most likely hadn’t stolen it, that would probably be fine. The suitcase was the issue.

Tony really didn’t like letting other people do his work, but again, what other choice did he have with that last one.

The injured man shifted into a more comfortable position and leaned more thoroughly against the wall, then he closed his eyes. He had alarms set for an early meeting the next morning, and he had scheduled a private plain in the afternoon. With as little energy he could charge himself with, he’d need all the rest he could get.


	3. A Pause And A Though

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve contemplates what he knows and what'll happen.  
> Whilst Tony can't seem to stay cool around a concerned Jarvis.

Steve's eyes were focused on the dark blue skies. He’d told the group about the deal he had made earlier, and they had been ecstatic. Steve got it, he really did. He was happy, too. It was just, he’d kind of been, or not kind of been. He had been a fan of Tony Stark and his work, for a while. A man that changed a weapons factory, to a tech company overnight, like it was nothing! A man that saw his mistakes, and changed himself accordingly.

Steve could really admire that, and it had been hard to admire anything after waking up alone in the Pacific ocean, and then finding out everyone he’d ever known was dead. Well, with the exception of Bucky and Logan. He was happy about that, finding out they were alive. But two close friends couldn’t fix waking up and being years into the future, in a world that seemed alien.

That’s when he’d heard about Anthony Edward Stark. It was pretty early on after defrosting, many years ago by now. Natasha had been teaching him about modern technology, a stark phone in one hand and a drink in the other. It had been a late night, they’d been sitting in front of the fire in her and Bucky's simple apartment. The atmosphere in the room was calm, the fire lighting up the room in warm colors. Of course, the calm mood was ruined when Steve asked a simple question about who Stark was, and James answered with,

_Some hot billionaire or something._  Steve snorted and Natasha rolled her eyes.

_He used to make weapons, now he makes everyday shit._ He continued. She smiled and shook her head before promptly interrupting him.

_People think he’s some spoiled rich guy, and he uses that._ Her words casual with an undertone of ominous.

_I helped him out with a problem once, you’d like him._ That night Steve really got used to googling. Natasha was right, he did seem to like him. And when he looked for it, looked away from the facade, it was easy to figure out he was keeping more than one secret.

The point, however, was that he was sitting on the roof, alone. Quietly comparing the dark blue sky to Tony Stark's eyes. Discovering Tony Stark hadn’t brought back his family, hadn’t given him sudden hope, but it did give him something to ponder and focus on when the voices of lost friends and family were too loud. So right now, doing a mission for The Tony Stark, felt both good and bad. Good because he wanted to continue being part of his family and earn some money their way (and he enjoyed “their” way, quite a lot) and bad because he knew he was making Mr.Stark he definitely wouldn't agree to if the situation wasn't dire.

Sadly, they need money and weapons. The group hadn’t made a deal in quite a while. They needed to keep their name fresh, and rumors about them alive. Generally just helping out the billionaire was also something he wanted to do.

Steve kind of wished he hadn’t met him like this, though. He had maybe originally wanted to get to know Tony, but he had to keep things professional and this **wasn’t** some random meeting. Anthony Edward Stark, a man full of secrets, suddenly needed help and that couldn't mean anything good. It was really weird that he hadn’t just called his bodyguard, that Iron Man, fellow. There must be a reason for that as well...

He seemed capable from the footage that Steve had seen. Steve admired his fighting abilities, his strategic mindset, and how good he was at protecting Tony. But his combat abilities, especially when it came to hand to hand combat, weren’t very good. It was enough to take down your average Joe, but not the enemies he usually fought. He made by just fine with his tech and strategy, but it simply frustrated Steve that a bodyguard, as fancy as he was, couldn’t even do basic combat!

Steve shook his head as he looked at the stars. Mr.Stark had his reasons for involving them, but he wouldn’t be telling them why. That's what Natasha had predicted, and that's what happened in the car. Steve shook his head. There was no reason for him to ponder about something that he wasn’t getting an answer to.

Steve let a yawn slip out of his mouth as he started climbing down from the cozy rooftop. He needed to rest before going over the plan tomorrow morning.

**\--------**

Brown droplets of caffeine were slowly filling his Captain America themed cup. Tony lifted the hand currently not occupied with his precious coffee maker and moved a couple of dark locks of hair away from his eyes. He neatly dragged them behind his ears, but unsurprisingly they fell right back. The billionaire, celebrity and genius, pouted. He needed a haircut, but sadly, this was perfectly fitting for the mission.

He had already shaved off his signature facial hair and planned on wearing one of his more extravagant suits. For tonight's mission, he’d chosen the beautifully, red, Sicilia Jacquard suit of Dolce & Gabbana. It wasn’t a tailored Van Dayne suit, but it was expensive and head-turning enough. It would attract attention, which for Tony, always was the best disguise. If you’re not trying to look unsuspicious, you’d look unsuspicious.

Tony took a sip and let the hot, hot coffee, burn down his throat. He probably shouldn’t be drinking caffeine with his heart being as damaged as it it, but at this point, Tony really couldn’t care less. Tony drained his cup of the delicious beverage and dragged up his pajama pants. He started walking towards the sink with his now empty cup as Jarvis, his butler, walked into the room.

“Good morning, Anthony”

The well-dressed gentleman said, whilst he grabbed the red, white and blue cup out the billionaire's hand. Tony frowned as he watched Edwin wash his cup.

“I can do that myself, you know.”

Jarvis grabbed the soap and calmly cleaned away all the brown stains that had managed to stick. Tony shook his head.

“You don’t have to do it for me.”

Jarvis simply smiled.

“It is my job, Mr.Stark.”

The older man grabbed a cloth and carefully dried the porcelain before putting it back in the kitchen cabinet.

“And I want to” He continued.  

Tony sent him a _look._ Jarvis sent him a _look,_ back.

Anthony couldn’t hold back the grin slowly forming on his lips. Jarvis let out a sad smile as he gently put his hand on the younger man's shoulder.

“Are you feeling alright, dear?”

Edwin's brows were furrowed and his lips were pointing downwards. He seemed older than usual, wrinkles more obvious than they normally looked.

“Y..yeah, Jarvis”

He tried for a smile.

“I’m fine”

Apparently, _try_ was the code word here. Jarvis closed his eyes and sighed. He moved his non-occupied hand to gently cup his jaw. Ever so carefully he used a finger to clean off a coffee stain. Tony stared fidgeting, he didn’t even attempt to meet the older man's eyes.

“I understand, Anthony.” His eyes were still closed.

“You won’t tell me.” He opened his eyes, smiling slightly at Tony's nervousness.

“You don’t want to worry me, I can see that…”

Tony finally met his eyes.

“But I’ll always be worried, dear..”

Tony looked down again, making Edwin's smile grow. It was quiet for a moment, none of them saying anything. Only Tony short breaths mixing with Jarvises calm once could be heard. The butler studied Anthony's face, stopping right by his cheeks. Then he continued.

“..Especially when you look like that”

Tony quickly looked up, his expression full of indignance. The butler let out a very unprofessional snort. Tony opened his mouth to protest his statement when Jarvis suddenly hugged him. They stayed there for a moment. Tony's head relaxing on the older man. Jarvis warm hands gently rubbing circles on his back.

“I’ll always be here for you, you know that, right”?

Jarvis' voice was deep, calm, reassuring.. safe.

“I know”


	4. Plane Rides And Road Trips

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Closing in on the mission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is rather short, but the next chapter will be longer! (I think. Hope?) I'm writing these on the go, so if you're wondering what's gonna happen? Well, me too!

Steve was stretching as the rest of the small group relaxed with their break. Bucky was checking his weapons, Logan drinking another beer, and Sam looking at Logan drinking his seventh beer, whilst shaking his head. Steve had picked out Natasha and Clint to join Tony at the airport, and all other Avengers to stay at the base as backup.

Peter, their youngest recruit, was incredibly salty about that. Luke and Jessica were expecting the mission to fail for some reason, so they were happy to be left behind. Everyone else was ordered to do their own thing. Some were patrolling around different towns, looking for trouble. Others were working on smaller missions, for less known people.

This groups mission wouldn’t be too complicated, and Steve was certain they would be able to do this themselves. He had chosen some of his most capable people for this, just in case. All in all, what Tony wanted them to do didn’t seem very hard.

What they were paid (with a suspiciously high amount) to do, was incredibly simple. The task Tony had given them was, getting into Tiberius Stones villa, and either

  1. a) Find the suitcase without attracting anyone's attention.



Or if the suitcase wasn’t there,

  1. b) Interrogate Mr Stone and find out where (if) he is hiding that (for some reason, very valuable) suitcase.



Normally this was a mission he could get Clint to do, alone. That said something. Or, well, Clint is an incredibly skilful asset, but he has a knack for constantly being a clutz, making some small mistake, or just not being smooth, at all. And well, in the end, he always seems to be in some random jail cell, in another country.

But, yes, for this mission with it being Tony Stark and Tiberius Stone as people in focus, he was taking a lot of precautions. Every group member was there for different reasons and specialities.

Logan had already been able to smell exactly which of his many villas the man was in. He was also there if anything major would go down. There was no one Logan hadn’t beat in a fight yet, no matter how many bullets were in him. The only one that had beaten him in a fight at this point, was Natasha.

Natasha was here because of different reasons. She is one of, if not, their most powerful member. She is a master of espionage. Natasha can get in anywhere, trick anyone, beat anyone. The list goes on. But for this, they were keeping here close to Tony, mostly because of a simple reason. She actually knew Tony, and apparently they were close friends. Steve could trust her to keep him safe, but also to do whatever was necessary to people around, or him if needed. Clint was with her, basically as an assistant. For the most part, they were on equal ground, but if The Black Widow told him an order, he knew to follow it 

Clint is their archer and thief. He, despite being a trash mammal, is one of their more experienced members. He’s been on the group for a long time, and Steve knew to trust Hawkeyes judgement.. most of the time. He’s also very good with people and children, even though he may not think so himself. So with keeping civilians calm, Steve usually picked out Clint to do the job. So for this task, he’d chosen Clint to accompany Natasha and Mr Stark.

Sam and Bucky are Steve right and left-hand men. They’re both very different, but coincidentally, also we’re good at working together. Bucky is violent and direct. He had seen too much too early, and it shows. Of course, he still managed, but it had its effect.

Sam, for as much as he’d seen, knew when to tread delicately and only hurt his opponent as much as needed. He had lived through a lot himself, but he continued being as peaceful as he could. Together you had the perfect balance between careful and harsh. Steve chose to keep The Falcon and The Winter Soldier together, as much as possible.

The Captain observed the area around him. As much as a simple mission this was, and as much as he knew the group had a tendency to joke around, they had to play this carefully. The Avengers had never failed a mission, and Steve planned to keep it that way, especially with a mission so out in the spotlight, like this.

The Captain studies his small team. Bucky was hiding two guns, one in his left shoe, and another one in an inner pocket of his jacket. His large M249 SAW was fastened to his back, barely hidden under his leather jacket. He met Steves' eyes and signalled to his com. Steve took the message and activated his com by touching it gently.

Tony had been incredibly generous with his tech, already equipping them with communication devices. Clint got some new arrows, and Natasha got some easily hidden tech she could play around with. Bucky seemed really excited about when he’d get his weapon from Stark. Steve didn’t think of it as too important what he got, simply that it worked well was enough.

His com beeped before a familiar voice reached his ear.

“We’re in Tony’s plane and about an hour away from Madripoor”

Natasha said, her voice calm. Steve could hear Clint chatting with Tony in the background, but he couldn't pick up what they were saying

“Nice, we’re taking a five-minute break before getting back on the bikes.”

Logan was throwing his empty beer cans at Bucky, and Sam cracked up in the background. These are people from one of the most feared Mafia gangs in America, Steve though. He smiled as Sam joined in on throwing stuff at Bucky, starting with random things he found on the ground, mostly rocks, but also what looked like a used condom. Steve stifled a laugh as Bucky screeched.

“Sounds like the break is going good”

He could hear Natashas grin through the phone.

“It is”

Bucky plucked the condom up from the ground and threw it towards Sam, unfortunately, it landed on Logan. Swearing was now happening, as Logan threw himself at James.

“How’s it going with you guys? You said you knew Mr.Stark from beforehand?” Steve continued, trying to ignore his _soldiers_ for as long as possible.

“It’s going surprisingly well. Tony is designing some new hearing aids for Clint, just because the once he’s using now isn’t working too well. Though I didn’t know Tony knew sign language, and I read the governments files about him…” Steve could recognize the annoyance in her voice, it was clear she was disappointed that she’d missed some information. The Captain could already tell Nat would be taking a new backgrounds check on him, simply out of spite. Team dynamics, huh?

 _I’m stuffin’ this up yer nose, Barnes!_ could be heard in the background. Steve let out a long-suffering sigh.

“I’m gonna have to get back to you later, Tasha”

Steve could practically feel her smirk as she answered.

“Now make sure you and the boys enjoy yoursel-”

Steve turned off the com.

“Break’s over, you guys!”


	5. Disaster In Madripoor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unfortunate things always happen in Madripoor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really recommend reading the comic "A night in Madripoor" It's some great Stony content, so if you haven't, you should really give it a look.

Anthony took in his surroundings. The smell of cigarettes and gourmet food, the sound of gunfire, rumors and chatter, the slight feeling of uneasiness put together with excitement. Ah, how Tony had missed Madripoor.

People may think it’s a bit weird that a superhero would want to hang around people that are mostly criminals, because, well, that is what the place is known for. But, nobody knows Tony is, said superhero. Nobody thinks of him as anything else than some billionaire looking for ways to spends his cash. And Tony loved that.

Here, he was nobody important, nobody spectacular. Who cares that he’s a certified genius, who cares that he owns these companies. He has money and wants to spend it, why else would he go to Madripoor? Nobody goes to Madripoor unless they want to spend money, or start trouble. Either one is exciting enough for these people.

Another good thing is, things that happen in Madripoor, normally stayed in Madripoor. There are always rumors. Rumors more truthful than you’d think, but nobody is ever sure. People take pictures of things happening, but they always end up blurry, same with the footage. If you invent something in Madripoor? It will be destroyed on the way home, of you’ll just lose it. It’s funny, like a depressing version of the Bermuda triangle.

So, yes. For a celebrity like Anthony Edward Stark himself, this is a very special place to be.

Tony looked around, smiling slightly. He could see Natasha raise an eyebrow at him in the corner of his eye and feel Clint judging him with a look. Around him, there were drunk people making out, brochures being thrown at guests aggressively, prostitutes leading tourists around, big guys fistfighting, and other types of chaos. So yes, maybe it looked a tiny bit strange with him beaming at it, but that was ok, Tony was going to enjoy not being dragged into the highlight of whatever drama that was happening.

Natasha grabbed both him and Clint's shoulder and started leading them towards their actual goal. Tony furrowed his brows at the treatment of his very nice suit, and Clint just shrugged towards him, as if to say _just go with it_. Natasha smirked at that. They closed in on a corridor before she spoke.

“Some of those people were talking about this bidding with mystery items as the theme.”

Nat looked around before turning the corner, still dragging the boys behind her.

“Mystery item?”

Clint asked. He grabbed a sausage from an abandoned hotdog-stand as he continued with the question. His mouth was filled with food as he spoke.

“Do people just buy something without knowing what it is?”

“Yes”

Tony answered happily before extracting himself from Natasha's grip, instead choosing walking alongside her.

“The items wouldn’t happen to be inside something, you know…”

He looked around, lifting up an eyebrow as he spotted a grease stain on Clint's shirt.

“A box, a purse, a handbag, maybe a...” 

“A suitcase, yes”

She interrupted shaking her head at Clint whilst he licked his fingers.

“So either this is a coincidence or lazy work”

Tony stated.

Natasha made a humming sound in confirmation as they finally reached the auction. A man clearly wearing a cheap version of the image inducer seemed to be running the show. His mask was glitching slightly and his eye color kept changing, he was also wearing a white suit and a white fedora. Clint must have noticed this at the same time as Tony because they both shared a synchronized eyeroll. Natasha kept herself professional and opted to focus on their surroundings. There were guards by every exit and entrance, easy enough for her to get through, though it surprising that they were there at all.

For the quality of the auction she hadn’t expected so many of them, there were six exits and two guards by each of them. She huffed out a breath. Something or someone valuable was in the room with them. She could tell by the body language and facial expressions of the guards. They couldn't be very professional bodyguards, all of them were focusing on the same thing, it was simple to tell with the way they constantly exchanged glances to each other and mirrored each other's stances.

The boys were rather distracted. The strange seller was showing off some technology that was apparently supposed to silence your gun completely. Clint was interested. Tony was shaking his head, he could easily tell that the product would work once, maybe twice if you were lucky. Definitely not worth 200 dollars. The machinery was horrible, but worse yet, the man kept walking around, unconsciously showing of his horrible cowboots. Tony was in hell, but he couldn’t look away either. The boots had metal parts attached, creating a jingle noise every time he took another step. Tony scoffed. He would rather listen to his laptop get smashed over and over again, than this.

Whilst Clint kept himself busy with the salesman and Nat kept her eyes on the guards discreetly, Tony looked around the room. He as well realized there were quite a lot of guards for a cheap auction. He had a bad, bad feeling about this. Anthony looked around. He was nervous, but if anyone were to ask, he was simply looking for familiar faces. He knew Clint and Natasha were powerful. He’d even seen Black Widow in action first hand, but something felt off.

The crowd around them were mostly people he didn't know. He did see Whitney Frost briefly, hopefully, she hadn’t seen him. It’s always awkward meeting your ex, especially if they were maybe, technically a villain and the people with you would definitely judge you for it. He shouldn’t have been staring, but she looked stunning. Whitney seemed to have gotten a new mask. Her eye holes were bigger, showing of her cold blue pupils. The features of her face clearer through the rest of the mask as well, more detail work was shown on her lips and nose part. It certainly wasn’t a bad look. Her body language was lax, she seemed bored. Like she didn’t have anything else to do than wait. That wasn’t a good sign.

He turned towards Natasha to give her a heads up when it happened.

Clint and Natasha turned around just in time to watch the bullet go straight through his left shoulder. Tony closed his eyes and tried to block out the pain. A clean shot, Tony thought. He’d be okay, the only thing he needed to worry about was the bleeding. This was good, this was fine. He opened his eyes, mentally preparing to find himself some cover. He squinted, someone had taken a shot at the light sources in the room and Tony was suddenly grateful for his thick suit jacket considering the nightlight surrounded by metal in his chest.

Clint was leaning over him, protecting Tony with his own body. Natasha had gotten a gun from who knows where and was shooting down anyone that looked even a tiny bit suspicious. Her com was on so she was probably contacting Rogers as well. Tony pushed himself up. _He must have fallen after the gunshot, or did he lay down?_ Clint tried pushing him back down, but Anthony simply grabbed his hand and used it as leverage to sit up instead.

“What the hell are you doing, Stark!”

The fact that Natasha was speaking Russian into the com seemed to only stress Clint more, the guy was practically screaming. A headache was working its way into focus and Clint was not helping. Also, had the professional just shouted out his very known last name? Tony knew most people wouldn't care here, but at the moment, really?

Tony rolled his eyes and used his right hand to rip up a part of his suit pants, he then firmly wrapped it around the wound. He grabbed a minigun from a hidden pocket in his jacket and looked at Clint expectantly. Tony was calm. This wasn’t his first fight, he was rather over the stress and excitement at this point

“Are you gonna try out your new bow or what?”

Tony raised an eyebrow. Clint looked at Tony and then Natasha. She met him with a nod before getting back to the com, and the archer reluctantly let the billionaire up.

Tony evaluated the situation. The guards seemed to be the once firing at them, easy to tell with the matching cheap tucks, but who had hired them and how did they know Tony would be there? Tony huffed out a breath and focused on taking them down. He could figure out his mess of a situation later.

\---------------------------------------

Sundown was closing in. The loud sounds from the bikes only seemed to fit with the atmosphere and the warmth made it possible for Steve to take off his leather jacket. Quite honestly, this could become one of Rogers favorite missions if it kept itself like this. Never good to jinx anything, but damn he loved this.

Sam and Bucky were sharing a bike, continuously bantering (flirting) with each other. Logan was eating chips whilst driving, seemingly not caring that half of the content in his bag was flying out. This was good, Steve thought. This was just fine. They’d reach their destination in about two hours and finish quickly enough. He stretched his arms as he noticed James use his com.  

Bucky was frowning, his eyebrows furrowed. Steve tried reading his lips but to no avail. Sam, who was sitting in front of Bucky turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow. Bucky looked up and simply shook his head. He kept talking for a couple of minutes before turning off his com. Sam looked at him questioningly, nonverbally asking him to explain what the matter was. Bucky seemed to contemplate the question before looked over at Steve and signaled for a break by raising his eyebrows and nodding towards the roadside. Rogers easily picked up on it and Logan followed right after.

When everyone had parked their bike and acted attentively, Bucky spoke up. He looked straight at Steve before he opened his mouth. The Captain fiddled slightly with one of Logan beer flasks. He had a bad feeling about this.

“Everyone on Natalia's team is ok.”

Steve shoulders automatically went tight, his breathing was harsh, his hands were with white with how tight he was clenching them. He clenched his jaw as well and took a deep breath. The glass bottle cracked slightly at the top.

“Seriously, they’ll be fine, Cap”

Bucky realized right after it was the wrong thing to say. Steve towered over the ex-hydra agent, his mouth was set in a permanent frown.

“ They _will be,_ huh. What happened.”

It wasn’t a question, it was a command. Steve gave James a look as he kept quiet. Sam did the same, whilst Logan simply raised an eyebrow. Bucky crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. He bit his lip for a moment before finally confessing. Nat would not be happy with him, especially not with him breaking so easily.

“So, Mr.Stark took a gunshot to the shoulder-”

His voice was calm but peppered with disappointment. Almost like he was talking about yesterday's bad weather. The beer bottle shattered in Steve's hand. The mountain of a man let out a low growl and shook his hands of the access glass. Logan let out a deep sigh and Sam frowned.

“Barnes” Steve's voice was rough, he really hated when his clients got in danger. Not only that, this wasn’t some ordinary client, it was Tony Stark.

“The fact that Natasha was there and he still got shot, doesn’t make it seem like they will be fine” Logan commented. Sam turned towards him with a look. Logan simply shrugged back.

“What’s their situation right now” Steve demanded. Bucky took up both his hands in a defensive manner.

“I’m sure they’ll be fine” He pointed out again. “The security guards in the room attacked, there was a whole lot of em.” He explained. “Someone probably doesn’t like Stark and took the opportunity to get at him when it seemed like he didn’t have security.” Sam pursed his lips. “That's my theory at least”  Bucky ended as he looked at him.

“It doesn’t seem a little bit too planned for that?” Sam questioned. The others looked at him and he continued. “Every security guard in the room were ready to attack, I doubt this was a spur of the moment thing for the attacker.” He concluded.

“Wasn’t this supposed to be a simple mission” Logan grumbled. Bucky rolled his eyes.

“Nothing has ever been simple for us” He pointed out.

Steve shook his head. He looked down at the broken glass and let out a sigh. His hands smelled like cheap beer.

“We’ll figure this out later, for now, Natasha and Clint will do their job and we’ll do ours. The mission will continue as planned.”

There was a small amount of murmuring before everyone walked towards their ride. Logan grabbed a lighter and a cigarette from his pocket as Bucky got behind Sam. Steve grabbed the glass he broke and threw it in the nearest trash can.

“We’ll take our revenge later, right?” Bucky questioned as he turned towards Steve.

Logan grinned.

“We’re the Avengers, Buck.” Steve looked at him. “We Avenge, it’s kind of our thing.”

Sam smirked as Bucky rolled his eyes. Finally, everyone started up their motors and drove off.


	6. Closer To The Case

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don't know anything about medical stuff! I search up stuff, guess and assume.

There were 26 unconscious guards in the room. Arrows were sticking out of eight of them, the rest had bullet holes in them or were beaten unconscious. Natasha was strangling the last one, Clint was looking at Tony, scanning him. Tony was just tired at this point, he hadn’t really planned for this high amount of energy being spent. His charger was currently at the plane, so he couldn’t exactly use it now, especially not with two Avengers there.

He still had enough electricity, but only so much. He’d rather finish this before the need arisen. The chest plate was getting weaker as each hour passed them, just as he had counted on, more than he'd counted on actually. To say he'd last five more days was starting to look a little naive.

“What was that all about” Clint finally asked.

Natasha walked towards the two and tipped her head towards the exit. All three started walking with The Black Widow in front, as Tony answered.

“Which part?”

The corridors were messier than before, it was clear other fights had broken out, but for now, the place seemed calm enough.

“The part where the security guards tried to take you down, but also the part about you knowing how to fight.”

Clint scanned Tony, whilst Natasha scanned their surroundings.

“I don’t know how to fight.” Tony started. That wasn’t entirely a lie, he wasn’t exactly a professional. Clint was about to cut in, but Tony managed to continue.

“I know how to fire a gun, and I know basic stuff.”

An A4 battery was laying on the ground, and Tony picked it up and dropped it in his pocket.

“I’ve made guns for years, Barton. I have to be able to use one. I’ve also been in a handful of bar fights, so that's where the fighting is from” He tried to make his voice sound jokily and calm, but it came out as very direct.

Clint raised an eyebrow.

“Feeling pretty defensive there, Stark”

Natasha gave Clint a pointed look. Clint shrugged, unconcerned. Natasha wouldn’t beat him up in front of Tony.

“I am not defensive”  

Tony answered defensively. Natasha raised an eyebrow. Clint smirked

“Clint literally asked.”

Tony pouted, Natasha sighed.

Barton snickered before continuing.

“If you tell someone you aren’t defensive, you probably are~"

Clint sang, egging the billionaire on. Tony huffed as Clint moved towards him carefully.

“I’m teaming up with children” Natasha mumbled.

Clint motioned towards the wound, Tony turned his body away from Clint, then stopped. He took a calming breath and reluctantly nodded. _Pleasedon’tnoticethemetalplatepleasedon’tnoticethemetalplate-_

“Natasha, how much do I have to pay you to kill Clint?”

His voice was entirely calm, a huge contrast to his actual feeling about the situation. Natasha grinned. She seemed genuinely relaxed as the archer carefully checked around the bandage. Tony tried relaxing his shoulders at that.

“How much are you willing to give”

She bantered back as she checked around the next corner. The corridors were empty and she knew it, this was mostly for show. If they could see that she was keeping an eye out it would calm them, especially Tony. He was distressed, Natasha knew. Mentioning it would definitely not calm him down, though. Instead, she did what she could. Pretending not to notice Tony's behavior made him feel that tiny bit safer.

“I would pay a lot.”

With careful fingers, Clint loosened the pants-part and nodded to himself, Tony tried to not tense up. Clint's hand were soft and gentle, doing his best not to hurt Tony. They probably didn’t know, Tony though, that he hadn’t had any physical contact with anyone else than Jarvis. He had also shared a handshake with Steve, and Clint had pushed him down earlier, but that was all. He was simply too paranoid, to scared. He couldn’t get attached to anyone, he was a dying man. No one deserved to be hurt by him, his death or him in general.

Clint kept inspecting his shoulder, unknowing of Tony's inner turmoil. _The bullet went straight through_ , he thought. _There's nothing to nag about_. 

The archer tightened the red cloth and made a note to rinse the wound when the opportunity came. Tony smiled at Clint, thankful for more than one reason. Clint didn’t understand everything, but he kind of did. He simply smiled and nodded back. There were a few seconds of silence as they walked before Tony continued.

“It’s Barton, so I don’t imagine you need much”

He tried deleting the last few minutes out of his memory. No one had seen or noticed his scars and wounds in a long, long, time. He had long-sleeved shirts, and a lot of makeup on hand. Easy to hide most things. If worse came to worst, he'd just have a meeting over phone, bluffing about having some simple cold. Jarvis seemed to know something was up, he was observant like that, but he hadn’t noticed the wounds. As mysterious and quiet Edwin liked to keep himself, he’d never let Tony get away with as much as a scrape if he found out about it.

Tony still remember coming home with a cut on his cheek and a black eye. This was years ago, even then he liked hiding them, his injuries. Small or big. He hadn’t noticed the them, and therefore hadn’t covered it up. Silly of him, but he was tired, exhausted. Hadn’t really worried about his face at the time, no, no, the stocks after a meeting went wrong was on his mind.

_He knocked on the mansion doors. His arms were filled with papers so he couldn’t really open them himself, stupid, stupid, stupid. Jarvis would be okay with opening the door, he convinced himself._

_The image of Jarvis warm face melting into cold rage is something he’ll never forget. The man, always filled with this gentle ease, transformed. The calm was still there, the gentleness, too. But something else was added into the mix. Rage, a frozen rage. Tony opened his mouth, about to come up with some kind of lie, some kind of excuse._

_Before he could get there, Jarvis had gotten in front of him. If he pressed his lips together any harder, they’d disappear, Tony though idly. The man, as elegant as ever, removed the glove of his left hand and gently cupped Tony’s face with it. The older man closed his eyes. He dropped his non-gloved hand, took a deep breath. With the gloved hand he pointed towards the living room, Tony, not used to Edwin acting like this, did as told._

_Tony heard the doors closing and the lock clicking into place. Jarvis's steps disappeared towards the opposite direction of him, and for a moment Tony thought he’d left. He was about to get up when Jarvis walked into the room with an emergency kit in hand. A cold stare and Tony sat on the couch again. He hadn’t felt so put in place since he was a child._

_Edwin placed the kit on the nearest table and took off the other glove. A quiet but hard “stay” left his mouth as he walked into the kitchen. Tony could hear the sink, Jarvis was washing his hands it seemed. Tony let out a sigh, he was distressed, to say the least. Jarvis wasn’t supposed to worry about this stuff. He came into the kitchen a few moments later, a wet cloth in hand._

_“Lay down.” He whispered. Tony wanted to leave the room, hide in the library or his bedroom. But he couldn’t do that. Jarvis was clearly worried, angry and worried. This didn’t happen often and leaving him the one time he demanded something. It wasn’t right._

_So with a pout, he’d never admit to, he laid down. Jarvis leaned over him, he seemed older than usual. Tired, disappointed maybe. Tony didn’t mean to disappoint him, he’d never wish for that in a thousand years. The butler started with the cut, carefully cleaning it. Tony could smell vanilla soap from the cloth. The cut was rather close to hit nostrils after all. It was raring from his left ear, to his over-lip. When he was done he pressed the cloth towards the cut. He gently grabbed one of Tony's hands._

_“Keep pressure, I’ll be right back” He left for the kitchen as Tony pressed. It stung a bit, but he’d had worse, was kind of used to pain at that point. Jarvis came back with an ice packet in hand, a plain packet of ice cubes. He sat beside Tony and was about to place the cold compress when he stopped. He scanned the eye for a moment, looking for blood. A sigh of relief slipped out when he found nothing. He looked Tony in the uninjured eye before asking, or rather demanding._

_“Do you see clearly.” Tony thought about it for a moment, he looked around the room. He nodded, everything was as normal as ever. Edwin scanned him for a moment before huffing out a breath._

_“I swear to God, Anthony. If you are lying-” His accent was particularly clear, and he called him Anthony. Jarvis was pissed. Tony frowned before raising his voice in answer._

_“I’m not!” Shortly after, he hissed. That cut was sharper than he thought. Worry-lines were forming on the old man's forehead. He nodded, carefully pressing the packet towards the wounded part of the black eye. He was gentle and avoided Tony’s actual eye as best he could._

_“You are the reason I’ve lost most of my hair.” He mumbled. Tony smiled slightly at that. A giggle fell out of his mouth. He smiled at Jarvis, it hurt, but it was important. He had to try and reassure him somehow._

_“I’m sorry for worrying you” He said, mouth twisting slightly. Jarvis just shook his head. He gave him a look. He reached for the young man's tie and gently loosened it. He put the tie on the table and grabbed some antibacterial ointment and some non-sticky bandages from the kit. He gently poked Tony’s hand, signalizing for him to stop holding pressure on the cut. Edwin gently applied the oil and fastened the bandage. It looked rather silly. His voice was muffled because the bandage went over it, and he looked about ten years younger with the it covering his mustache._

_“There is not a single second I do not worry about you, Anthony.” He whispered. He looked at Tony, mouth going downwards as he studied the swollen eye. He let out a deep breath._

_“Of course, It would certainly help if you at least tried to keep yourself away from trouble.”_

“True” Natasha answered.

Tony shook his head. What were they talking about, again? He got lots in though, it seemed. He took a deep breath. He needed to focus on the situation at hand, not feel guilty for going against Jarvis words. He was a grown man, he shouldn’t feel so guilty over making his own choices...

They finally stopped walking when they were back with the old hotdog-stand. There were no more sausages to eat, much to Clint’s disappointment. Tony grabbed some amo from his back pockets,  Natasha nodded in thanks as he handed some over to her. Looking around, Barton found an abandoned bucket, turned it around, and then sat on it.

“So what do we do now?”

He asked. Tony looked down at his ripped pants and simply dropped down to sit on the dirty floor. Natasha stayed standing.

“Well,” She started and pursed her lips. “Why don’t we check the security footage and find out what happened.” She thought out loud. She then looked at Tony’s shoulder, evaluating her options. Tony was used to injuries, that was easy enough to tell, but he was still a client. She knew he could keep up with them, he’d proved so earlier, but he was no Avenger. He wasn’t trained, or ready for an actual mission. Now was a good time as ever to drop him of. The mission could only get riskier from here.

Normally, the clients didn’t even know anything about the mission at all, this was a very special case. Natasha was still surprised Steve had allowed it. Although if someone was after Mr.Stark, it wasn’t good keeping him out of the loop. But then again, if someone was after Mr.Stark, It wasn’t good keeping him out in the light. The best thing now would be to find a safe location for him, a temperary hiding place, and take care of his (minor) injury.

“Actually, I’ll check the footage” She started. Clint looked at her, raising an eyebrow. She nodded back. Clint now knew what the plan was. Tony frowned. Natasha was certain he wasn’t going to like, said plan.

“Mr. Stark, why don’t you tell me what the suitcase looks like” She raised an eyebrow. Tony nodded slightly, about to agree. Natasha took a risk.“Or the item in the suitcase?” She realized she shouldn’t have suggested it. Tony let out a deep breath.

“Ms.Romanoff, It was in my understanding that we came to an agreement?” His tone had grown more formal. Distant, professional, like he was talking to some board-member he had to repeat an instruction to. Clint huffed, placing the bow on the ground and raising his hands in a defensive manner.

“Dude, we’re not gonna steal your shit.” He smiled slightly as he slipped his hands into his pants pockets. Natasha sat on the ground, copying Tony's position. She lifted a hand towards him. He raised an eyebrow.

“You want us to shake hands on Barton’s statement?” Clint rolled his eyes. Natasha simply looked at Tony and nodded, her face was neutral. Tony contemplated his options.

“I’m going to be completely honest.” Tony looked down at the hand Natasha had chosen to keep holding out. “You two seem, not trustworthy, but not dickish enough to steal my shit before getting paid to find it.”

He looked at Clint.

“You’re too nice for it”

He looked at Natasha

“And you have standards”

They both nodded in agreement. Tony scratched the back of his neck, tipped his head to the side.

“But you work in a group and a chain of command. I don’t trust you as far as I can throw you, and I definitely don’t trust people I haven’t met. The chance of the item being removed from the case is small, simply because it would be too obvious without it.” He raised an eyebrow at Natasha.“The suitcase is huge, round and silver. Will you be able to find it?”

Natasha laughed. Tony didn’t know if he was supposed to be happy or scared. Clint looked unsure in the background too. He stood up from his chair and gave Tony a hand in getting up. Tony realized he was getting rather dizzy. Probably his shoulder.

“Mr. Stark, if the suitcase was in the building, I will deliver it to you myself”

She promised as she walked of.


End file.
